Beyond the Veil
by StormFox87
Summary: A young archaeologist named Albert Stone spent years searching for what he thought was a long forgotten civilization. He finally found what he thought would be answers, only to be thrown in an adventure he had never would had expected...
1. Chapter 1

**AN- Hello fellow readers, this is consider my first story here on fanfic. I've never written before so ideas and tips would be greatly helpful. I've seen several HIE (humans in equestria) stories and this idea played in my head for some time. So i hope you all enjoy and please review.**

**I do not own My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic *So all you lawyers buzz off or i'll send Fluttershy after you* **

_Fluttershy_- "Fus Ra _Yay_"

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><p><em>"Once about a time, in the...land of Equestria. There were two… sisters that ruled together and created peace for all the land. To do this; the eldest,…...raise the sun at dawn. The younger, brought out the moon begin at night. The sisters maintain balance for their kingdom and subjects; all the different types. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. …... the day her elder sister brought forth; but shun and slept through her….night. One faithful day, the younger….refuses to lower the moon…for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her. But bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into …. of darkness; Nightmare…... She vowed that she would cover the land in lasting night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harness the most powerful…..known to Ponyville; the Elements of Harmony. Using the powers of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her forever on to the moon. The elder sister took on the responsibility for both sun, and moon,<em> and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."

Albert Stone finished reading the last pages few pages out-loud to himself; scanning over the words several more times, as if trying to read in between the lines searching for some kind of answer hidden beneath the words. It had been nearly eight years since he had found this book. He was on a trip in South America while studying as a student in archaeology. The team that he was in were searching through some ancient ruin that was recently been discovered deep in the heart of the Amazon. What was even surprising was that it had not seemed to be related to any of the Aztecs or Inca temples.

Unlike the temples in Machu Picchu or Chichen Itza which built to worship their sun, this temple seemed to had worship the moon and night rather than the sun. What was also puzzling was that it seemed to have countless images and artwork of horses, even artifacts of Unicorns, and Pegasus. The one image that greatly recognized throughout the entire temple what he thought was the most beautiful Unicorn he has ever seen. Unlike most unicorns he had heard in myths which were white, this one had a coat of deepening dusk's inky cerulean cloak. Her eyes were midnight cyan, and around her face flown a mane that glowed with the radiance of the night sky itself. Finally on the statue's right flank seemed to be a symbol of a lunar moon. Maybe it was something these people saw as a goddess. The artworks of this creature held such great magnificent and power to it. Such great care to detail it was almost as if this lovely creature was real in front of him.

It was also here that Albert found something that was one of the many things he would look back later on in his life. While searching through one of the many passages, Albert had literally stumbled upon it; having tripped over what he could guess was loss floor panel, revealing a hidden chamber. There he found a book, lying there on top of a small alter. At  
>first it had looked like any normal book, though worn with age it still seemed to be in good shape. On the front cover was a golden crest of a moon. When he had first inspected the book he had noticed that the golden crest was removable, though for whatever reason he did not know.<p>

Though two things that struck him at odd though with the book. One was it was a book. The Mayans and the Aztecs wrote in codex and this seemed something closer to what the Europeans had been using during the thirteenth century. The second thing was even stranger than the first. At first he thought it would be Spanish; maybe something the Spaniards had left by during their time in South America. But as he read through the pages he began to see it wasn't even Spanish at all, but rather symbols of more images of horses, unicorns and other horse related images that didn't make any sense!

With some convincing, Albert was able to keep the book. Working hours and days on end trying either trying to translate the book or he spent hours back in the temple looking at the images of the dark blue unicorn. It had been a long painful eight years but Albert had been at least glad to have some success even if it was only the first few pages. But even then he doubted he would not be able to translate even close to half of this in his lifetime.

"Are you reading that book again?" Albert jumped almost from his seat, nearly dropping the book in the progress. "Damn it Keitaro don't do that." Albert pulled his headphones out, and glanced back angrily at the man who had snuck up on him. The other man was fairly young looking Japanese man around close to the same age as Albert in his mid to late-twenties. He looked soaked to the bone; having tried to escape the rain from outside. Keitaro gave a hearty laugh, wiping off his glasses as best he could. "Hehe sorry, didn't mean to startle were in another world again. Any progress on that?" Keitaro asked, gesturing towards the large book.

Albert shook his head "No, the only words we've been even close to translate is the first few pages and even then some words I can't seem to figure out, and we're not even one hundred percent sure if they're even right." He set the book aside for the time being. "Any progress out there?" Albert asked, tossing him a hand towel to dry off.

"Sadly no." Drying himself off as best he could "We try to do some more digging but the rain is slowing our progress down. I've sent some of the men to do some more finding back in the temple."

"Well it IS a rainforest after all." Albert joked, getting up from his chair and giving a satisfy sigh of popping joints. He stood at full height, clearing over shadowing Keitaro now. "Been stuck in your cave too long there Kuma." Albert could only roll his eyes at his friend's jester.

He had met Keitaro back several years ago when he was going to Tokyo U as a foreign-exchange student to study for archaeology. The two of them had become fast friends and was often teased for his large body structure and hairy features, which had quickly earned him the nickname Kuma or bear in any case.

"Haha, but I'm sure you didn't come here just to pester me." Albert stated reaching into his shirt pocket to pull out a cigar. "You know those are not good for you." Keitaro pointed out as he watches his friend lit his smoke. "So? At least they're not those nasty things your aunt smokes all the time." He rebuke back while taking several puffs.

Keitaro could only shake his head in disapproval "Anyway, I did come here to tell you that you have a call; It's Seta."

"Seta? Really now, what does the old man want?" Only to get a shrug as his answer. "Don't really know, all he told me was he needed to speak with you. He sounded really excited about it."

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting shall we?" Albert replied before grabbing his worn duster from the table and followed Keitaro from the tent.

Keitaro led him to one of the computers that had been set up within the mess tent. "It's going to be a bit laggy but the call will be coming through alright." Keitaro stated before typing in a few keys into the computer, popping up an image of an older looking man. Albert sat down in front of the computer looking at the man.

The man was Japanese like Keitaro though he was much older version; the hints of grey were showing on his head. "Professor…Professor Seta are you still there?" Albert spoke through the speaker. It took a moment or two before the man begin to smile, adjusting his glasses on his face.

"Ah Albert, good to hear from you again; how's the Amazon treating you." Albert glanced behind him to see it was still down pouring "Very wet. How's Egypt treating you old man?" he looked back towards his old professor

Seta only laughed "Very Dry...But I'm sure you not interested…about the weather now." Seta adjusted his glasses again.

"Keitaro told me you had some urgent news to tell me?" Albert questioned.

The man smiled brightly and nodded "Yes, in fact I think it's some that will greatly peak your interest….But why…..tell you when I could just show you." Moment or two later several pictures popped up onto the computer screen.

Albert took his time and studies the new images carefully; taking in every detail. Slowly his eyes begin to widen every second in the realization "Is…..Is this what I think this is?" Seta's smile continued to grow, watching the reaction of his old student "Yes...we discovered it a few weeks ago after one of the terrible sandstorms I ever saw…..We're still trying to get sand out of our boots."

Albert just continued to stare at the images he was given, it was the closely similar to temple that was here. He was starting to get excited, like a children finding out what he was getting before Christmas. Finding another ruin that was similar to the one here in the Amazon filled him with joy. What secrets could they tell more about the people or the culture relating to these people that worship horses. But this also brought even more questions than answers. One such as how could the same temple is in two parts of the world from two very different sets of cultures?

"How is this possible?" Still trying to wrap his head around this new discovery.

"We don't know yet the period this was in. But this seems older; maybe even older than the Old Kingdoms, we're not for sure." Albert sat back; his mind trying to wrap this around his head. His old teacher just continued to grin "I knew that would peak your interest, that's why I wanted to ask you to come to Egypt and to help me."

Albert blinked for a second; his mind focusing back to the elder man. "I'm not sure old man, we've still have so much here to uncover."

"Don't worry about it Albert, I'll take care of things here while you're gone." Keitaro butted in. "You sure?" Albert looked back to his old friend.

"Yes, yes, besides if anything new pops up, I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I can." Keitaro just waved his hand reassuring him there were no worries. Albert just nodded before looking back towards Seta. "I guess I'll be going then."

Seta clapped his hands in delight "Fantastic! I'll call in some favors for your trip. Be seeing you in a few days." He cheerfully said before cutting off the connection. "Well then, I guess I have some packing do." He muttered before heading back towards his tent on what things he'll need.

**Egypt, nearly a week later **

Noriyasu Seta crouched down, his nose nearly inches from the ground. The temperature was over a hundred degrees. His knees ached, despite him wearing his thick rug-layer pads; god how he hated feeling old. His lungs burned from harsh dust. Sweat dripping off his forehead onto the ground. But Seta was oblivious to the discomfort. His entire attention was focused on the six-inch square of stone slab in front of him. He carefully brushes away the hard dirt in between the cracks of the carved image. It showed an image of a Pegasus standing gently on a set of clouds, it's wings spread out as ready to take off.

"Professor Seta!"

Noriyasu Seta looked up, blinking in the sunlight. He pushed up his glasses before wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. He saw assistant waving at him from the shadows of the field laboratory "Visitor!" He called, and pointed towards the north.

Seta saw the cloud of dust, and the red Ford sedan bouncing over the dirt road towards them. Seta glanced at his watch: right on time. On the other hill, the other workers looked up in interest; it wasn't often to get visitors. Seta began to walk down the stone carved stairs to meet the car.

Albert grinned, adjusting his duster on his head as he slammed the car door. "Professor," he extended his hand and shook hands with his old teacher. "It's good to see you again, how've you been?" Seta smiled in return "You look thirsty. Want a beer?"

"Jesus, yeah." Albert chuckled adjusting the satchel on his shoulder as he followed seta towards one of the larger field tents

Seta glanced over to him "I don't think you'll be needing that." He stated looking at the revolver on Albert's left hip.

Albert just shrugged readjusting the gun and knife holster on his belt. "Like my father always said 'Hope for the best and expect the worse.' Besides remember what happen back in Mongolia?" Earning a nervous chuckle from Seta. "Hey! How was I to know there were still bandits in that area?" He tried to argue back, though he knew he was beat. "So how long have you've been out here now?" Albert asked as they enter in the large tent.

"Oh about three cases so far." Answered the elder man, tossing him a cold beer from the cooler. "You still measuring time with beer huh?" Albert shook his head, and glanced outside.

"Amazing isn't it?" Seta stated, opening his can. Albert only nodded in response. To see it as he drove up here was just simply breath taking. "Spent the last several weeks digging around the site itself. We had yet to go inside it. I wanted to wait till you got, so you could be one of the first few to step inside." Albert could shake his head but knew why Seta was doing this. "Let's go then; we're burning daylight."

"READY! ONE, TWO, THREE, PUSH!" the large doors were pushed widely open. Albert, Seta and several men stood in front of the entrance, peering into the darkness. Was this what Howard Carter felt as he had found King Tut's tomb? The feeling of excitement, not knowing what laid ahead, and what could be the greatest archaeological in history. Albert pulled out and shined his flashlight, into the long passage. "Well then, allons-y." as he ventured into the darkness.

It was amazing; like the temple of in the Amazon, this too had its halls filled with images of Unicorns, Pegasus, and other Horses but this was on a much grander scale. The artwork held so many rich details, telling of stories of some long forgot time. What was also incredible was that time was also had been very kind to this place as well. The images still seemed very well intact as though these were just recently made. They continued onward, making their way into what seemed to have been a large gathering hall. Maybe it was when the masses gathered to worship.

"Albert over here." Seta called over his attention. "Take a look at this." Seta gestured to a large painted image that was on the far side of the room. "Those this seem familiar to you?" Albert looked over at the Seta was looking at.

It was a painting of an ivory white unicorn her ephemeral rainbow mane spilling over her face and past the single tall, proud horn, beautiful and flowing like an eternal sea. Almost as pretty as the amethyst eyes of the regal female, which matched the color of the two gemstones that set neatly in a golden tiara, just above her horn. It looked like she was sitting on a large throne, on the right was the moon, and on the left was the sun.

"I think I've had." Digging through his satchel and pulled out the 'book', Albert flipped through several pages till he found what he was looking for. It was the same images that was in the pages of the book, in fact as he glanced along the wall more and more of those images from the book match the ones on the wall; telling some sort of story about these two sisters. Though unlike the one in the Amazon, this place seems to worship more to the sun, rather than the moon. Amazing if one thought about it. The two temples, both here and the one in the Amazon had a deep sense of harmony. While the moon rose in the Amazon jungle, the temple here would be seeing the rays of the sun.

"Sirs, over here!" one of Seta's assistants waved over by another passage way.

*Cue Audiomachine- Lost and Forgotten*

They were led to what seemed to had been a small throne room. From the far end of the room was a large throne incased in gold. On its head were six different color gems, each sitting neatly in a small golden sun ornament. The gems were large, each were as big as a full grown man's fist. On the wall behind it was a small hole just big enough to letting the light shine in, which shined upon the throne showing off its glory. Albert glanced about; in certain parts of the room there were large golden Pegasus, large mirrors set neatly on their backs. Albert pulled out his revolver and aimed it towards a bent mirror that some light was shining off of it.

***BANG***

The sudden sound of gunfire made everyone jumped, but it had done its job. The bullet hitting its mark on the golden rim of the mirror, causing it to tilt upwards and letting the light reflect from it to the other mirrors; brightening up the room for all to see.

"Incredible." Seta glanced around in amazement. Clay pots, statues, and artifacts littered the room. The walls were decorated with colorful craftsmanship, so many kinds of colored silk and fabrics leaned against the walls. In the center of the room floor before the throne was a large circular image of the two sisters. Both were facing each other on their back legs, between them what seemed to look like a door with strange looking symbols engraved on its archway. "And you said I wouldn't need this." Albert joked, putting away his gun. He took his time soaking in all that was in the chamber.

He gave a moment, looking upon the golden throne. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the 'book' and flipped through several pages, there was something odd about the arrangement of those gems. "What you got Albert?" Seta watched his student walking up towards the throne, his eyes seemed focus on the large gems that set just above the head of the seat.

"These looked like the ones here in the book; the 'Elements of Harmony'…." Albert glanced back between the book and the gems several more times "They're in the wrong placement order, but why?"

Albert reached up and careful grabbed one; the green gem from the top of the holder. It easily had popped off "Seta come here." He beckoned the Professor over and handed over the open book to the man

"What are you doing?" Seta questioned his student's action.

"Someone had put these on the wrong order. Maybe on purpose, I don't know." Albert replied as he carried on his task. It wasn't long for him to put them in the right places. The red on top, pink, and blue on the left, yellow, and green on the right. Albert carefully placed the last gem into the middle slot. Just as he done so a soft click was heard. He took a step back, waiting to see if something were to happen.

Nothing, nothing happen. Had he done it wrong, did he misplace the gems? He took at the book once more, wondering if he had gotten the wrong order. "Something's missing." He glanced towards the Elements of Harmony again before noticing the small hole that lead to outside behind it. The gears in his head were clicking together. This was almost like a puzzle.

"Seta...What time is it?" not taking his eyes away from the hole behind the throne.

"Huh? Well it's almost four o'clock, why?"

Albert smirked, not saying anything as he backed away from the throne. He watched as the light slowly crept through the opening shining into the room. The gems began to shine brightly just as the sunlight touched the purple gem in the center. Each of the gems shined, pouring out their own color onto the floor, forming into a mix range of colors of that of a rainbow. The signal ray of rainbow light inched its way across the floor towards the carved image that was on the floor before the throne. Just as the rainbow color light shined onto the center it began to reveal small key hole that was a shape of a crest moon within the center of the doorway, the symbols that laid on its archway began to give a faint glow of purple hue. The other workers muttering amongst themselves of this sudden chain of events that was taking place. Albert walked over towards the center of the area; his eyes began to scan the rest of the carvings. He knelt down, taking a closer look at the glowing symbols. They were the same as the ones in the book. Though he could only just barely make out a few of the words.

"Behold the Veil…..Land of Harmony….when sun and moon meet….the door shall open." Albert scanned over the words several more times; trying again and again to make sure he was reading it correctly. When sun and moon meet; what did that mean? The gears in his head began to turn. "Sun and moon, sun and moon…an eclipse!"

"Albert! What do you think you're doing?" Seta stopped just outside of the circle.

"It's a key, the book IS the key!" Albert was quickly digging through his satchel and pulled out the book. He only had a short amount of time before the key hole disappeared again. He started to give a few hard twists on the golden moon crest till he heard a soft click.

"Albert I don't think that….." but it was too late as Albert slotted in the golden moon, when he heard the soft click he knew it had worked. Though what happen next no one could foresaw. The crested moon and carving symbols on the floor had started to glow in a ray of mixed colors. Though weak at first, it began to glow brighter by each passing second. The eyes on the two sisters started to glow of deep pinkish hue, even the carved 'door' was giving off a glow of bright white. But then the room had started to shake, sending pots and smaller artifacts shattering onto the ground. Many of the workers started to scream in fright, most running from the room for safety of fear that the room may collapse. Though while all this was going on Albert did not feel the small quake, nor the cries of the others around him.

*cue mlp intro in bell chimes*

All he did was stared at the 'door' in front of him. It was almost as if the 'door' was opening up underneath him, the bright light continuing to glow brighter. The very last thing he could remember was hearing soft sweet sounds of bell chimes. He felt that he wanted to hum along with it, though he could barely make out the tune itself.

"ALBERT!" Seta try calling out to his student as the bright light intensify, forcing him to shield his eyes as the light began to engulf Albert's body. Seta tries to reach out and grab on hold of him, but just as he was about to touch the wall of light it suddenly exploded, knocking Seta flat on his back. Seta gotten back up to his feet, trying to rub the spots from his eyes. The sudden light was gone, but his student was nowhere to be seen.

"ALBERT!" he called out, hoping his student was still in the room, but was only greeted with silence. He was alone and on the ground behind him laid the scattered pieces of gems.

"Min sister?" Celestia glanced over behind her to see her sister Luna. Her face showing both of concern and worry for her. "Thou seem troubled dearest sister, those something ill thee?" Celestia gave a warming gentle smile "No my dear sister, I am fine. Just simply enjoying the evening breeze." She gazes back out towards Everfree forest. She had felt a huge spike of magic suddenly being released. Though as quickly as it came, it had just as quickly disappeared again. It felt almost familiar to her, though she could not place it. She thought of sending a team there to investigate, but decided to leave it be for now and just simply wait.

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><p><strong>AN: Not sure if i plan on any pairing or with who. But i'll be sure to set up a poll in future chapters. So till next time, may the Muffins be with you.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer-I do not own My Little Pony or any of the characters. Only the OC is mine, got that, good.**

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><p>Albert Stone lay on the hard ground, his cheek pressed against the cold stone. He drifted back to consciousness. He only wanted to go back to sleep right now. He shifted his position, and felt the pain in his cheekbone where it lay against the hard stone floor. His whole body ached. His arms, and legs, and mostly his head—the terrible pounding pain in his head. He felt as though he had went several rounds against a gorilla, and said gorilla had a friend.<p>

He pushed himself up on one elbow, opened his eyes, and retched, vomiting all over the ground. He tasted the sour bile and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He head was throbbing; he felt dizzy and a bit seasick, as if he was rocking back and forth on a boat.

Albert muttered out a soft curse, as he rolled onto his back, turning away from the puddle of vomit. The pain in his head made him breath in short and shallow breaths. He opened his eyes once more, trying to regain his bearings once again, only to quickly shut them again from the bright light that was overhead. He tried to open his eyes once more, letting them adjust the lighting around him. He couldn't remember anything expect for being in the chamber with Seta and bright white light. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the soft melody of bells.

He felt sick again, and closed his eyes until the nausea passed. He continued to lay there for several more minutes, before he slowly started to push himself up into a sitting position. He could feel his joints popping, luckily though none of his bones felt broken. He look about curiously at his new surroundings.

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><p>*Uncharted 2- Marco Polo*<p>

The room was smaller, almost oval shape, columns running along each side of the room. Though unlike the bud-shape columns they had found in the chamber in Egypt, these columns here looked more liked Corinthian columns. Though most of them looked destroyed; worn from age and harsh weather, he could still see the carved ornaments of leaves and flowers on their bases. He also had notice several shattered windows, and parts of the ceiling overhead was missing as well, letting the sun shined through. At the far end of the room was a large throne, almost like the golden one in Egypt, though this seemed to be made of stone, large parts of the upper half were missing.

He started to slowly get up on his feet, making sure not to stumble over himself. He could feel his head ach returning again. He gave himself a moment to recover before picking up his duster that was lying on the ground beside him. He gave a quick examination, looking for any kind of tears or damage done. After a satisfied check, he neatly placed it back onto his head once more. He headed over towards one of the windows. Maybe he could get an idea as to where was. Though what he saw wasn't quite what he expected to be, being greeted by a sea of trees and other vegetation. He could see mountains just over the tree lines at the distance.

"Just where the fuck am I?" He muttered confused by what he was seeing.

Where ever he was, he defiantly knew he wasn't in the same temple anymore. Hell, he didn't think he was even in Egypt anymore either. "Alright Albert, let's try not to freak out right now." He muttered leaning heavily against the cold hard stonewall. He started to think back at what might had happen back at Egypt. Was it the carvings and the key reasonable for bringing him here, and just where was here anyway? "Let's see, we're lost in some ancient ruins in God knows where, maybe miles away from any help, and no food or water on you. On the bright side, you're still alive, none of your bones feel broken, and you still got your hat….yeah, sounds like a normal day." He muttered examining the room once more, picking his short beard in thought, a habit he done for years since he had grew it out. A large part of the room was heavily shadow, though he could still make out some of the architectural structure within the room. It seemed nearly similar to many of the gothic castles in Europe.

He mind began to grind its gears. People had to have been here before to build this place, and there could be a fair chance of maybe a town or village nearby that could help him. Since this had to be some kind of European castle of fortress, then maybe for all he knew he could be somewhere in Europe; at least that's what he hoped.

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><p>With a plan in mind Albert started to look about for maybe some kind of door that could lead him out of here. He noted a doorway on other far side of the room, which looked like it led downstairs. As he made his way towards the staircase he started to hear a low growl. At first he just thought it was his stomach, and brushed it off. But what made Albert made his body tense up was the second growl, it sounded much louder and closer this time. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck started to stand.<p>

Albert slowly turned his head around. His eyes started to widen, seeing two yellow eyes staring back at him from the shadows. A lion, he knew it had to be a lion; he could just barely make out the mane on its head. His best guess was that it didn't look pleased that someone was invading its home. He could feel his heart racing. He wondered just how a lion could be here or how he could have not noticed it before. He slowly reached for his revolver. He knew he was in a very bad situation right now. But right now he needed to get to the stairs as quickly as he could. Maybe if he was cautious, the lion won't rush him; if it did he would only have seconds to react.

Albert slowly started to back away towards the stairs, keeping a hand on his revolver, and an eye trained on the creature that was in the shadows. Just as he touched the first few steps, is when he saw the creature started to move from its hiding spot, but what Albert saw next nearly made his heart stop. The lion was huge, bigger than any normal lion he had ever seen in his life; it was nearly the size of a large horse! But it wasn't just the size that made him stop in place; it was what was 'on' the large lion that shocked him to the core.

A legendary beast that was described only in myths and legends, a manticore! How could that even be, sure he guess in ancient times that animals like unicorns and dragons might had once existed, yet no proof was made of them being real. But yet here, staring at him in the face was a creature that had a body of a red lion, and a tail of a scorpion. The very creature of myth itself, standing no more than several feet away from him!

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><p>It stood at full height, the red fur shining from the sunlight, horns standing proudly on its head. Its large paws almost looked like normal lion's paws; was covered in reptilian like scales. Though instead of wings this manticore's tail however was a larger, and at the tip were several large needles that were nearly the size of his arm. He remembered reading once that a manticore would sometimes shoot poisonous spines from their tails to either paralyze or kill its victims. He cringed as it let out a loud roar, showing its three rows of sharp teeth. It was then that Albert knew he needed to get the fuck out of here, caution be damn! He turned and bolted down the stairwell; the beast charging after him.<p>

*Uncharted 2- Cat and Mouse*

Albert continued racing down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. He could hear the manticore not too far behind him. He took a glance back, and let out a small curse. It was starting to gain ground on him; he could just see the growing shadow of the manticore along the wall.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and came upon a T-junction. He quickly turned left and raced down the corridor. He looked back again seeing the manticore now, still following close behind him. Maybe no more than fifteen yards behind him. He pulled out his revolver and shot wildly three rounds behind him. Only one of the three bullets actually managed to hit its mark; skimming the manticore's left eye. The beast roared, surprised by the sudden pain in its eye. But it seemed that the wound only anger the creature further. Albert looked about, hoping to find another exit and fast.

He took another left down the passage and saw a door onto the right. He slammed through the door and quickly shutting it behind him before bolting the door. He knew that thing could easily rip the door apart, but he needed some way to slow it down. He raced towards the balcony which was at the other end of the room. He peered over the balcony trying to find some way down; he could already hear the manticore pounding at the door.

"Oh you got to be shitting me." Albert muttered seeing the only escape route available was a ledge that was ran along the building, it was so thin; he doubted half of his feet would fit on them. But it was undeniably leading towards a mess of vines just a few yards over. They looked like it could support his weight.

The manticore busted through the door, looking about for its prey with its only good eye left. It sniffed about for a moment. It knew the prey was still nearby; the scent was still strong here. It slowly stalked towards the balcony, the scent was getting stronger, but it has yet to see its meal. It stopped at the sound of muttering and the fall of loose stone

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><p>Albert stopped for a moment to regain his balance after his left foot almost slipped off. He was right, the ledge was thin indeed. He could hardly steady his heels on it. He pressed his back against the wall. He was nearly there; he could just touch the vines.<p>

*ROAR*

Albert glanced back towards the balcony and cursed. The manticore was standing there growling at him in anger, its tail raised as if it was ready to strike. He felt his stomach turn, taking a good guess as to what that beast was about to do. He quickly reached over for the vines and started to slide himself down just as the first several needles flew inches over his head. He slid as far as the vine could go, and looked to see there was a broken part of the wall, looked assessable enough for him to grab. He pressed himself against the wall again just another set of needles whizzed passed by him. He looked up seeing the manticore was still shooting its poisonous spines from the balcony railing above. 'That thing doesn't know when to give up.' He thought, holding onto the vine for dear life.

Albert could feel the vine was starting to give-away from his weight. He started to swing himself back and forth several times, trying to give himself the momentum it needed. He knew his only chance right now was to reach for the ledge. After the third swing Albert let go of the vine and leapt, just barely grabbing a hold onto the ledge. He could hear the manticore roaring above, but it seemed the creature had stop shooting at him. But he didn't care right now as he started to shimmy his way across the ledge, and try to work his way downward.

* * *

><p>Albert reached the ground, glad to have the soft earth underneath his feet again. As he had been climbing down he saw a bridge, which lay just on the other side of these ruins. If he could make it towards the bridge then he should be ok, just as long as he didn't run into old ugly again. He dug through his bag and pulled out a small box. "Shit." Looking at the only remaining bullets he had left. Besides the two in his gun, he only had enough for eight more shots.<p>

'Going to have to use them wisely.' He thought as he started to reload his revolver. Right now every bullet counted.

Albert continued to venture onward, climbing over rumble and small walls as he made his way towards the second large stoned structure. As he drew closer he noted a hole off to its side, it looked just large enough for him to climb through. He began to climb up hesitantly through the hole in the wall, gripping his gun so hard it ached. He carefully looked about, if to see any signs of the manticore. Seeing that it was clear he slowly climbed in and dropped softly onto the ground.

The room looked about the same size as the one he had been in early. Same rib vault designs, several broken windows, and only thing new was a large stoned round pillar that sat in the middle of the room. On the top of it was a large sphere, though vegetation nearly covering most of its designs. Just underneath it were five arms sticking out, each looked like they once held something on them.

Albert stepped out from behind the column and looked about. He could see a large double door at the end of the room, and still no manticore within sight. '_Safe_' he thought making his way towards the doors. He was halfway there when something very large landed behind him. He glanced back and curse; it was the manticore again. It's one good eye staring at him in raging fury. It gave roared; swing its tail and destroying a smaller column.

* * *

><p>*Uncharted-Showdown*<p>

"You are persistent bastard, aren't you?" He said as drove to the side just as the manticore leapt towards him. He rushed off behind another column, firing two more rounds at the beast. He needed a plan and fast, just shooting at it was only making it madder and wasteful to his remaining rounds. He peered around the corner and quickly ducked again as several more needles flew at him. His mind was working overtime, looking about for anything that could help him. He glanced at the columns; all of them were weak and broken at some parts. It would take one good hit to knock them over. Suddenly an idea pop in his head, it was crazy but it could just work if timed right.

"HEY KITTY! YOU WANT THIS NICE BIRD!" Albert taunted giving the manticore the middle-finger. "COME AND GET IT!"

The manticore growl and started to charge its prey. Albert just stood and started counting down in his head. It wasn't until the manticore was nearly on top of him that Albert drove off to the side, the manticore crashed head-first into the column. The force behind the impact cracked the column, breaking it off its base, and sent it crashing down onto the beast. Albert didn't waste any time and rushed for the doors. He continued to race down the steps, his lungs like they were on fire, but he could see the bridge just up ahead.

*CRASH*

Albert glanced over his shoulder. The manticore busted through the doors and was hot on his heels; its body was covered in cuts and bruises. Albert was half-way onto the bridge now but he knew he couldn't keep running like this. It was only a matter of time for the beast would catch him. He stopped in the middle of the bridge and turned back towards the manticore. He could hear the bridge stain from under the weight of they were putting on it.

*Uncharted 2- Desperate Times*

Albert looked around him, another idea was forming. It was stupid and it may kill him but desperate times, called for desperate measures. He started to wrap one of his legs around one of the ropes. The manticore was getting closer now, only 20 yards now.

He pulled out his revolver and pointed it towards the other rope "I hope you can grow some wings kitty…." He pulled the hammer back; 10 yards left. "Cause we're going on a ride." He pulled the trigger. The first shot tore through the rope, but it took a second shot for the rope to fully snap. Albert let go of his gun and threw himself onto the bridge floor, grabbing a hold of the broads as tightly as he could. The combine weight of both man and beast put too much strain on the remaining rope snapped, causing the bridge to fall apart beneath them. Albert felt himself being slammed onto the cliff wall, but held on tightly, not letting go. He watched as the manticore tries to reach out, but could only grabbing air as it tumbled down into the river below.

Albert stared on for a few more moments before started climbing upward till he had reached the top. He slowly pushed up himself up onto the soft grass, breathing in short shallow breaths. The adrenaline was starting to wear off. His body was aching, the pounding in his head was returning with vengeance. He could feel his eyes trying to close, begging for sleep.

'No, I can't….not now.' He thought as he struggled to his knees. He couldn't go to sleep right now, who didn't know what other creatures could be out here. But now it was going to be even harder since having to drop his gun, leaving him only his knife. After finding someplace that was safe he could then rest, but for now he needed to keep himself moving. He slowly pushed himself onto his feet again and slowly started his way down the road into the unknown forest.

* * *

><p>*At the river*<p>

A large paw reached out of the water and latched a hold of dry ground. The manticore pulled itself out of the freezing water; its body was battered and beaten. It looked upward with its only eye, giving one last growl, before slowly limping away into the darkness of the forest. For now it will rest and lick its wounds, and then…it will hunt again. It will have its revenge on the two legged creature.

* * *

><p><strong>I had wished it to be longer but eh. <strong>

**All your favorite ponies will show up in chp3 but until then here is a small teaser as to what will happen; HIT IT PINKIE :3!**

_*Naruto- __Naruto's Main Theme__*_

_Scootaloo- "The Cutie Ninja Squad has arrived! Now everything will be alright! With us on the case that monster will never stand the chance against our awesome skills. Taking down the beast will be a stitch, we'll be sure to earn our cutie marks for sure! I'm even sure Rainbow Dash will be proud of me! " _

"_All we have to do is find it and…huh? What is that! Th…That thing is huge…I…I'm starting to think this was a bad idea … No! I can't be scared now, everyone is counting on me! I need to prove to them I'm not a chicken! Come on, I'll show them what I can really do!" _

_*cue Japanese text*_

_Next time: The Cutie Ninja Squad, and the Everfree Beast!_

_Scootaloo- "Let's go, I'll show you who's chicken! Believe it!"_


End file.
